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VNP Update

kapoho2

By kapoho2,
in Hawaii

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kapoho2

kapoho2

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I had posted this yesterday...buit it is buried in another thread. There has been a swarm of earthquakes at VNP starting early Sunday morning. The quakes were happening at the rate of hundreds per hour. Although most were minor (less than mag. 3) the park rangers closed Chain of Craters Rd. and most of Crater Rim Drive. On the news last night they were talking about traffic jams within the park as everyone was on the 3 mile stretch of Crater Rim Dr. that was still open.

 

As of this morning's report...the swarm continues but now at a rate of 10-15 per hour. The park rangers will be making an assessment today if they will reopen the park.

 

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Status Page

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RSWBADGER

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Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park has taken the following precautionary measures: Chain of Craters road is closed. Crater Rim Drive is closed between Jaggar museum and the Thurston lava tube parking lot. NPS personnel are sweeping both roads to evacuate visitors

 

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Jun/18/br/br6379458120.html

 

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park officials will meet at 8 a.m. today to discuss whether to reopen park areas closed yesterday following a series of more than 260 small earthquakes.

A "swarm" of shallow, relatively small earthquakes jolted the upper East Rift Zone of Kilauea Volcano today, prompting the National Park Service to evacuate tourists and campers on the chance that the quakes might signal a dramatic, unexpected change in the ongoing eruption.

 

Chain of Craters Road, Hilina Pali Road and much of Crater Rim Drive will remain closed through the night, park spokeswoman Mardie Lane said.

 

For updates on park road closures, call (808) 985-6000 or visit http://www.nps.gov/havo.

 

Jim Kauahikaua, scientist-in-charge of the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said the earthquake swarm began at 2:15 a.m., and said there had been small earthquakes about every minute or starting at about 6 a.m.

 

"It looks like the rift has expanded a bit, possibly to accommodate magma, and the earthquakes are accompanying that process," Kauahikaua said. "It's kind of going on for a long time, but we're keeping an eye on it." An intrusion of lava into new underground cavities in the volcano could cause the magma to escape to the surface at a new, unexpected area of Kilauea, Kauahikaua said.

To guard against that possibility, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park closed the Chain of Craters Road that gives park visitors access to the area where the ongoing lava flows pour into the sea.

 

The park service also closed Crater Rim Drive in between Jaggar museum and the Thurston lava tube parking lot on the chance that a new flow could also put that area at risk.

 

Very interesting, keep an eye on this.

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"Very interesting, keep an eye on this."

 

I will, seems like the Big Island could be in for some exciting stuff! It's good to know they err on the side of safety, especially as lava is unpredictable (to say the least). I hope for the sake of local residents that it settles down and doesn't turn out to be a major change in the direction of lava flow.

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sceptic

sceptic

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I talked with a volcanologist a couple hours ago at HVO. The quakes are migrating down the rift towards Napau again. Pu'u O'o's main lava tubes that feed the ocean entries are pretty much drained of new lava. This means that whatever is left in the tubes (they're miles long) will enter the ocean, followed by nothing. It's hard to see into the Pu'u O'o crater itself because of dust/Particulate Matter clouds tossed into the air by collapses and other action caused by the rapid deflation in the area. Closer to Makaopuhi (about halfway between Pu'u O'o and the Kilauea summit) the east rift has widened by as much as 25 inches, perhaps more.

 

What this means is - they aren't sure...

 

As of now, it seems likely that the flow of magma in the east rift to Pu'u O'o has subsided dramatically. Whether this is permanent or not, no one can say. It's likely, though, that within a few days the amount of lava entering the ocean will diminish to near zero. Can it resume? Sure. But right now nobody knows.

 

The HVO staff was almost anticipating a breakout farther uprift. Right now, though, the quake activity, which has increased -decreased-increased-decreased indicates a lot of magma between Napau and Makaopuhi.

 

This has happened before, in 1997 and 1999 (in the former, lava did break out in Napau crater, stranding a couple of campers who had to be evacuated by 'copter). And magma eventually returned to Pu'u O'o both times. But this event seems much more significant in terms of disruption of the east rift.

 

What this bodes for active lava viewing for cruise ships?

 

For the next few days, perhaps a bit longer, possibly not much. But once the lava in the tubes makes its way to the ocean, the tubes will be emtpy - there is currently no magma replacing it. For the benefit of those wanting to see lava entering the ocean, just hope that the magma to Pu'u O'o reestablishes itself. For those of us who see it by land, let me tell you - Pu'u O'o was a pain in the rear to get to, either by the Napau crater or the "jungle walk to volcano" (as seen in the Hawaii Revealed book.)

 

We have been truly blessed with the amount of active lava flows entering the ocean over the past 20 years. It's a very rare length of time for this activity to occur. I hope it keeps up, but nature is fickle that way, especially in a place as dynamic as Kilauea.

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RSWBADGER

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FLOW TO SEA GONE

While the quakes could indicate magma was flowing into new areas, there "seems to be no lava flowing of any significance on the surface" where it used to stream from Pu'u 'O'o to the sea, said Park Ranger Mardie Lane, quoting observers. "The vigorous steam plume at the ocean entry is now a mere wisp."

 

The floor of the crater dropped about 20 meters, or about 65 feet.

 

bilde?

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kapoho2

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It looks like the show is over....at least for now. But, this is probably an intermission. For those of us who live here....now the big question is where did the lava move to after all these earthquakes? Hopefully, it will will not re-emerge in any populated areas...and will just remain in VNP and treat us to more nightly shows.

 

Now is the time to start offering Madame Pele all the gin she wants :D

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Kilauea Daily Update issued Jun 19, 2007 09:35 HST Volcanic-Alert Level WATCH - Aviation Color Code ORANGE

Report prepared by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO):

 

New Lava outbreak in Upper East Rift Zone of Kīlauea Volcano

 

The intrusion of magma that was signaled by a swarm of earthquakes and rift zone widening over the last two days has finally made it to the surface. Early this morning, HVO scientists confirmed that a small outbreak of lava had oozed from a 250 m long fissure in the forest northeast of Kane Nui o Hamo, approximately 6 km west of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō and 13 km southeast of Kīlauea summit. In addition, steam was issuing profusely from a spot high on the north flank of Kane Nui o Hamo. This event will be called Episode 56 of the ongoing eruption.

 

When observed at about 7 a.m., the lava was cooling and not advancing. Steam and gas were issuing from the fissure. The outbreak appeared to be a short one that had been over for at least a few hours by the time it was seen this morning. This may be related to the abrupt eastward migration of earthquake epicenters into this area noted between 3:45 and 5 p.m. yesterday. Small earthquakes continue to occur in the area at low levels.

 

The crater of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō vent was shrouded in steam this morning and no views were visible. No incandescence was seen in the webcam overnight. No active surface flows were seen anywhere on the flow field. The only molten lava seen was a small stream dribbling into the ocean at Poupou that that may be draining from the Campout tube system. Gas emission measurements yesterday confirmed that the activity level at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō has decreased significantly.

 

Kīlauea summit continues to deflate, although at decreasing rates. Seismic tremor levels, indicative of subsurface magma movement, also decreased overnight. GPS receivers in the vicinity of Makaopuhi crater and Kane Nui o Hamo continue to record extension across the rift zone; preliminary data indicate total widening of nearly 95 cm (37 inches).

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sceptic

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For a little perspective, the activity up the rift zone is to the north of Makaopuhi crater - if you've ever hiked the Napau trail by Makaopuhi (an amazing site!) the small forested hill to the N/NE of Makaopuhi and butting up against it is Kane Nui o Hamo, and the activity was on the N/NE flank of this very old shield. The surface activity had already waned at the new location by 7 AM today. They're just waiting for what's going to happen next.

 

And unfortunately (from the perspective of cruise folks) it does look like the magma flow to Pu'u O'o and hence on to the lava tubes to the ocean has been disrupted. There will still likely be some points of glow on the hillside for a while, because lava tubes are superb insulators. However, something will have to change for the lava to get to the ocean.

 

I know this is something of a bummer for folks who are cruising by the volcano in the next couple of weeks, and I empathize. But I do wish I was there right now... the anticipation of What's Gonna Happen??? is probably overwhelming to the volcanologists at the observatory.

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sceptic

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Nice graphics, FB. FYI, the source of the surface activity this morning was that little dot on the top side of the Makaopuhi crater on the map.

 

And the surface crack (shown in the side diagram for Event 54, which happened in 1997 at Napau) is a little too close to Pu'u O'o for the most recent activity, but does give a very nice graphic representation of what's going on underneath the ground.

 

Yeah, in reality it's certainly a bit more complicated than that, but nevertheless it might help people see that if the conduit to Pu'u O'o has a truly significant disruption, the activity centered there might be over. It's too soon to tell, of course. In 1999 something similar, but on a smaller scale, happened and it was several weeks before magma/lava returned to Pu'u O'o. But return it did and we have been graced with several years of terrific ocean-entry activity as a result. "Time will tell" is an annoying aphorism most of the time, but occasionally it's quite accurate.

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It looks like the show is over....at least for now. But, this is probably an intermission. For those of us who live here....now the big question is where did the lava move to after all these earthquakes? Hopefully, it will will not re-emerge in any populated areas...and will just remain in VNP and treat us to more nightly shows.

 

Now is the time to start offering Madame Pele all the gin she wants :D

 

Well, as much as I was/am looking forward to lava viewing from the ship, if it doesn't happen "them's the breaks!" Of course, I've been dreaming of visiting Hawaii for 25+ years, and this summer's my first chance! So I'm with the poster on the other thread -- it's me!! It's all about me! :) (obviously joking here!)

 

While lava is fascinating, the fact is that people do live on the island (actually THOSE islands -- even Haleakala which is "presumed dormant" has only been so for for a period of years roughly equal to one-one millionth of a gnat's eyelash in geological terms) -- and any change in the lava flow is great cause for concern. The flow has come quite close to Hilo before, for example. Every rock in the islands will eventually return to the sea, as the Revealed book series likes to remind us in the "personal responsibility" section. If in July we are someplace nearby to watch part of the evolution, it will be educational and interesting, regardless of whether we see incandescent flow or not.

 

Thanks to those watching this so closely and furnishing updates!

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sceptic

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Please note - Hilo is the far Eastern end of Mauna Loa, not Kilauea. It is simply not threatened by any sort of eruption from Kilauea.

 

Mauna Loa last erupted in 1984, and one of its lava flows came within about 4 miles of the outskirts of Hilo. There is currently no evidence that Mauna Loa is close to erupting.

 

Kilauea could affect any people living near the east rift zone, all the way down to Kapoho. (It's not a hugely populated area, but tell that to the former residents of Kalapana.) As of now the seismic activity is centered uprift from Pu'u O'o. Fortunately, this is not an area that is populated.

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Please note - Hilo is the far Eastern end of Mauna Loa, not Kilauea. It is simply not threatened by any sort of eruption from Kilauea.

 

Mauna Loa last erupted in 1984, and one of its lava flows came within about 4 miles of the outskirts of Hilo. There is currently no evidence that Mauna Loa is close to erupting.

 

Kilauea could affect any people living near the east rift zone, all the way down to Kapoho. (It's not a hugely populated area, but tell that to the former residents of Kalapana.) As of now the seismic activity is centered uprift from Pu'u O'o. Fortunately, this is not an area that is populated.

 

Oh, sorry I wasn't trying to start misinformation -- I re-read my post and it definitely wasn't as clear as I would have liked. I was just trying to say that even "dormant" volcanoes can change in a hurry, and to add that while the current changes are fascinating, they are also a cause for concern for local residents. Those separate thoughts got kind of muddled in my post -- thanks for clarifying for me. :)

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There is a new webcam that has been setup to watch the area betwee Mauna Ulu and Makaopuhi Crater. http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/cam3/

 

L.jpgM.jpgR.jpg

 

The advisory level has also been changed from Orange/Watch to Yellow/Advisory due to the lack of an active eruption. :(

 

I hope something is going on while we are there.

 

FB

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